Don’t add Aaron Rodgers to 49ers list of QB options just yet

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26 in the NFC championship game. Rodgers is now 1-4 in five trips to the title game. His post-game press conference led to plenty of speculation about his future, and due to the nature of the 49ers’ ongoing uncertainty at quarterback, they became a topic of discussion on various internet forums Sunday night.

Here’s how it went down:

Green Bay kicked a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ 8-yard-line with 2:09 to play to cut the Bucs’ lead from 31-23 to 31-26. Rather than let Rodgers try to find the end zone and give Green Bay a chance to tie the game, they settled for a short field goal and then never saw the ball again.

Rodgers said after the game he thought the team would have four shots to score from inside the 10, but he also told Packers reporters that he understood the decision to take the three points.

The loss marked a second consecutive defeat on the precipice of the NFL’s biggest stage, and head coach Matt LaFleur took the ball out of quarterback’s hands in the biggest moment. It’s understandable Rodgers would be upset after the game, but he didn’t say he wants out. That’s why discussion of where he’ll play next year feels premature.

Here’s what he did say.

He did say “a lot of guys futures, they’re uncertain, myself included,” per the the Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

He also said, “I’m going to have to take some time away for sure and clear my head, kind of see what’s going on with everything. But it’s pretty tough right now,” via the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood.

Packers Wire’s Zach Kruse noted Rodgers was more somber than he’s ever been, and Kruse’s instant reaction to the presser reflected Rodgers’ uncertainty about the future, although he changed his mind after letting it marinate.

While we can’t start putting Rodgers in with other potential trade targets for the 49ers, it is worth monitoring how this loss settles in with Rodgers over the next several weeks. One loss probably isn’t enough to usher him out of the only city he’s known in his 16-year NFL career.

But, the season began with Green Bay selecting quarterback Jordan Love, Rodgers’ eventual replacement, in the first round instead of getting their quarterback some help for the 2020 campaign. It ended with the ball being taken away from Rodgers so he could watch from the sideline as their Super Bowl hopes slipped away.

It was undoubtedly a heartbreaking loss for Rodgers, who is 37-years old and running out of chances to earn his second Super Bowl ring. His somber post-game press conference probably has more to do with a crushing defeat than a desire to play for another franchise. It’s worth keeping an eye on for the 49ers, but it’s still too early to pencil him in as a candidate to play quarterback for San Francisco next season.